EVE ONLINE: SPIKE
by Sgt-Sparki
Summary: Set years before the age of the capsuleers, a Minmatar Spike Lieutenant and her crew of the BackStabber-class cruiser Asjondr return from a vicious skirmish and are to be relocated to a new station HQ. But as these young men and women make way, they are soon to fall into a series of troubles and hardships that challenge the fragile truce between the nations of NEW EDEN.


EVE Online Fanfiction

"**SPIKE**"

Disclaimer

All elements are based on CCP's award-winning MMORPG „Eve Online" , featuring original characters invented by Sgt-Sparki.

This fanfiction is to roughly take place around the year A.D. 22423 - before the real _capsuleer age_. This means this is an age where vessels were still manned by live crew.

Premise

It is AD22423. The Minmatar Rebellion remains an ongoing struggle for ages to come despite the foundation of the unified _Minmatar Republic_. But this new _Republic_ is now tested by its own politics and ideologies splintering the tribes to their personal interests of a greater good.  
Although the _Republic_ remains a thorn in the eyes of the decadent Amarr Empire, all nations of NEW EDEN are forced to engage a fragile truce as the rise of vicious pirate conglomerates had become an even greater threat. With this truce comes the necessity of combining arms against the new embodiment of terror.

**Prologue**

- The Scar -

= Somewhere throughout the Heimatar Region =

Ever since recently, darkness had flooded most of the tight _bridge_, if one could call it such. To a point, one would rather assume it as large cockpit.

Only a separate few consoles emitted faint light. Random sparks jumped from the low ceiling, scaring some of the nearby non-commissioned-officers. Other than occasional exclaims, one could hear the ongoing hisses of ruptured pipes and automated fire suppression units spraying a constant stream of smoke to extinguish fused relays.

"*Sigh* Calm down, fools! Report...", the dark-skinned _Matari Spike Lieutenant_ demanded with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"Uhh...", a young Gallente officer started, "We lost internal comms due to this power shortage, Spike -"  
"Power shortage, eh? You don't say...", she scoffed from further behind.

"- For the moment, of course, ma'am. I could get one of the _gearheads_ on my personal radio."  
"Get to it", she growled from the darkness.

The actual _bridge_was more of a not-so-spacious cockpit consisting of a mere ten souls operating specific stations and with a ceiling so low that even the short matari spike lieutenant had to watch out for its irregularly hanging obstacles.

This cockpit bridge, or better known as _the cramp_, could by no means present symmetry, let alone comfort. Even the prime seat of the spike lieutenant was displaced from the center of the bridge. It was impossible to figure if the asymmetry came from the lack of aesthetics or the mere desperate necessity of welding whole ships together by the irregular parts that were available.  
The majority of interfaces were antique, featuring many switches, rudimentary and rusty keyboards, flip switches, corded headsets and anything else plausible from the last century.  
It was not rare to hear the specific bumping sound along with a moan as one would have an unpleasant encounter with one of the hanging mainframes - or random cusses while getting tangled with cables and other components suddenly falling from the low ceiling.

Despite the current power shortage, the air was still thick as mainframes emitted their residual heat signatures and the distinct scent of electronics. The stench of burnt circuitry did not make matters easier and the actual fumes easily stung the eyes.

"I'm reading you, techie - Uh. Could... Could you speak up? I didn't get that last part - *huh*"  
Before the young gallente could hear another reply, his personal walkie-talkie was surprisingly snatched from his hand.

"Gimme-that", he heard the spike lieutenant growled from behind, "Techies: Power - **NOW**!"

After a short pause, the response of a young female sounded from the speaker. Her voice was quite soft, hinting that the person most likely did not possess much of a self-esteem, ""Th-That last heavy missile fused one of our primary conduits, just in case you haven't noticed, boss... We were lucky it detonated just off our portside.""  
"Are you deaf? I said: Power!"

""Right, right - We're almost up and running. Just a few more seconds - Lucky for us that we can recalibrate the power grid easily. *Sigh* What a mess ..."", she explained, ""Got to say... Good thing the coils can't handle power surges that well. If they could have, they'd blow half of our power grid to shreds. Whatever those pirates are fielding, those missiles are definitely loaded with a new sort of warheads... Something with high yield electromagnetic pulses...""

" EM? With such potentials? Interesting... ", the gallente officer noted.  
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever", the spike lieutenant said and moved back to her _throne_, "Just get my ship back up 'n' runnin'!"

""All right, all right! Engineering out - bloody b - "", the voice responded and ended the transmission.

"- I HEARD THAT!", the young brutor woman growled loudly, but then calmed down, "More importantly now: What about _them_?!"

All of her arcing interfaces were offline, rendering her practically blind and reliant to such stations that were still active.

Another young man spoke from her right side, "Passive sensory and optics are still working. _They_'re still there, ma'am, holding their positions. Looks like they've been heavily damaged by our last assault", he carefully explained, "I'm not sure, but it looks like their ship was ruptured by a critical internal explosion. Lots of components have been sprayed out into open space. Right now, that cruiser is adrift - I doubt this is a ruse, ma'am. Our assault has devastated them."  
"Hmm... The blind fire actually hit something?", somebody else wondered.  
"Come on. They must be baiting us", the woman's voice replied from the darkness, "They managed to hurl that missile at us after all. They probably want to make sure that to hit us precisely this time...""

"If they were that desperate, they'd be hurling more than just one of those..._ torpedos_. Ma'am. I mean, they area of effect was tremendous. They missed us and they even managed to knock out our power grid."  
Another male gallente officer rubbed his head, "This pile of welded, duct-taped piece of crap couldn't hold together even if -"  
The young man felt his comrade suddenly holding his mouth, who hoped that the spike lieutenant overheard that line.

"Not just that", the first gallente officer added, "They'd be performing further evasive actions, let alone attempting further electronic warfare, but all that seized. Maybe we did -"

"- Wh-Whoa. Whoa, one moment, please", another young man noted from the left side of her position, "... Spike Lieutenant. I am picking up a signal. Identified - Sounds like... No doubt, it's a standardized status code. Verified. _Code: SOS - Alpha_."

Other than hisses from the surroundings and the relayed tones sounding from the PA speakers, silence filled the _bridge_ for the moment.

"That... would be... a _critical SOS_", the gallente noted, "An utter assurance of distress... as well as an unconditional _surrender_ - by military means that is."  
"This is not an official war, boy.", a man added.  
"I'm surprised they even use the standard code system..."

"Does this all mean that we DID really get them?", the soft voice of a woman sounded from the helm station situated behind the spike lieutenant's sophisticated seat.  
"Even if this is not war and even if they may be pirates... but...", the man carefully explained from the same area just besides the young woman, "...but when they transmit such, they truly mean to surrender. Even if they are cutthroats, they have a code of their own. It's their last way of survival. In this galaxy, the code is respected..."

"Honor codes can be broken anytime", the young man from the communication station replied, "While I understand their situation, they simply cannot be trusted. These _pirates_ are **nothing** compared to any delinquents of known history. "  
"Even so. Soldiers, pirates and outlaws want to live on. They know when it's over - and when it's time to lay weapons and surrender to whatever foe. There's a difference between them and _true criminals_", the pilot answered back.  
"I don't get it. How can we know the real difference between... A _pirate_... and a **pirate**... Good gracious - How can you figure that out?"

"For starters... Hideous tactics or not, real criminals would be engaging ramming speeds - firing with all they have left - Things like that. They would go down fighting. Those who are wanted dead would **never** turn themselves in unless there was some sort of emotional drama moment", the man throughout the darkness explained, "Yes, it is obvious that we will not know what their true intentions are. They may be having an army just waiting to board this cruiser once we attach our provisional airlock on their hull. We're ready for this, though - at least our marines. Pirates of whatever facet do know to take prisoners. Of course, there are the real criminals, but we're around highsec - so mindless murders have little chance."

"Heh - _But NEW EDEN physics doesn't support collision detection..._", the communication officer joked, "I understand you, Ojur. I just can't trust people like soldiers and pirates. They're good at killing - They are just as dangerous as murderers, I say. When it comes to firefights, nobody makes exceptions on civilians."

The conversation was shortly interrupted when the heavy steps of a tall woman in a military combat outfit were heard, pacing away to the exit vault located at the rear of the small bridge. She had been silently standing around all time through - until now.

Seconds went by until the young officer continued, "Damn... Didn't mean that I would not count on _her_. We have Arison and her few _warrior blooded_ marines onboard at least. They'll make short process of any hostile boarding attempts. I feel a lot safer with her around. That's to be said... *sigh*"

Unfortunately, warrior bloods such as Arison were of a special nature and personality... A very special one... and it was something that disturbed him. However, he never intended to insult her nature but it was too late as she was already long gone.

"Don't say that to me - Better say it to her in her face, because for her being the _warrior_ type, you just insulted her indirectly, boy", Ojur explained, "You'd better make it clear to her, boy. She's tough though. Maybe she's just heading out to get ready - or is out to _get something for you_", he smirked.

The young officer looked at the direction of the man's voice just before intended to get up and follow the possibly angered marine. His venture was halted by the spike lieutenant's grasp upon his arm.  
"_Not now, fool_. And if she was going to kill you, you'd throat-slit without us even knowing. Now sit down."

Ojur continued, "When you've been a real war, young blood, you will get to learn the differences. You will also learn how such people like Arison are our only hope. As for pirates, there is no shame in giving up and surrendering. With nobody being immortal, people would rather cherish life than end up being consumed by the _coldest embrace of the endless void_...  
I understand though that they may have fears of executions... but ever since '_we the Republic_' has joined arms with our Gallente friends, our new agenda assures any surrendering pirates fair trials - with no sight of death penalties and the possibility of actually getting a normal life... whatever you can consider normal in NEW EDEN these days. Even so, they might even get a clean slate after prison time... of course, still having that stain on their record - but it's a whole lot better than a drumhead court-martial. "

The communication officer hesitated to answer. The bridge remained silent for another moment until the speakers began to emit a specific tone.

"What now?", the spike lieutenant growled.  
"They... hailing us, ma'am."  
"What? Really?", she leaned back into her seat and scoffed, "Well... This ought to be good... On screen!"  
"S-Screen?"

"Just... patch 'em through, Jeris", Ojur sighed.  
"Right... At once."

After a sequence of static and frequency modulations, the aligned transmission was finally heard albeit full of codec errors and noises. All listened to the voice of a man who sounded injured and exhausted.

Clearly, he was demoralized... Anybody could sense that this was not a ruse.

""A-Attention matari cruiser: _As-yon-diir_. This is... *moans* _Third-Otan_. Cease fire... We... _surrender_ -""

"_Honjrerr tej 'As-hon-drch'_, moron", she mumbled, apparently stating the pronunciation in the matari dialect.  
"What the - ? So what now? We're to arrest them after all?", a nearby officer asked, but the spike lieutenant urged him to hush.

""- Over half of my crew is dead, with most of them being hurled out into space as we speak. We are slowly venting atmosphere with no chance sealing the damages... *mmhghh* _As-yon-diir _- You are the victor and we s-surrender. We show no hostility and understand should... should there be any sense of distrust. But we ensure you of our unconditional capitulation. I implore you of your mercy and the code of the _Mhodanur Convention_. -""  
"Well... Somebody did their homework there...", the matari lieutenant scoffed.

""- The internal explosion has rendered my cruiser immobile and our hull has been critically ruptured. We have taken the toll for our stubbornness - _As-yon-diir_, please, we are also surrendering because the rest of the pirate force has finally managed to flee, leaving us behind.  
I... I have executed our former leader as he was not reasonable. He was also the one who dispatched the last missile attack! Please, this is the truth. He attempted a second launch of primed missiles despite all of our warnings that our ship was severely damaged... I lost a lot of good people...""

*GOOD?!*

""We have jettisoned our armaments and payload as of the code: We surrender. Please... Extract us. The remaining crew is on its way to the rescue capsules to abandon ship. I will take full responsibility for any acts occurred upon your vessel and your union.""

She looked over to the side, spotting the silhouette of the surveillance officer giving a thumbs-up gesture, signaling that this was true as he spotted the heavy missile bays along with their charges being ejected into the eternity of space. The enemy was not feinting. Of course, insisting a risky docking maneuver upon an instable ship was not quite an easy decision.

The spike lieutenant clutched a small object that was dangling just upon her left breast by a twisted cord, "Ari - _No fun's gonna happen today for you and your guys_."

The gallente officer indirectly understood that the spike lieutenant was not insisting to have her marines ready to slaughter anyone with hostile intentions. Apparently, the lieutenant was confident that no hostilities were going to occur, although the situation did ask for some heightened security. Nonetheless, it was obvious that Arison and her men would be standing by.

Although this cruiser did not have a real brig, there were compartments that were perfect for arrests.

Suddenly, the small bridge experienced a minor jolt along with the sound of power being infused through the veins of powergrid. Within a single moment, various interfaces flickered back into life and the bridge was flooded with a deep red light, signaling that while general power was retained that the ship was still applying backup power generation.

"Thank gods...", the female pilot noted from behind with relief, "Spike, maneuvering profile is back online: Thrusters, vernier, chargers, afterburners - all green. We're all mobile again. I can see now that we're more or less on a parallel course with the drifting vessel."  
"Tactical: Back online. Weapons, countermeasures... all of them", another officer noted and examined certain details, "Thank goodness. I doubt was I going to be able to hit anything manually without any targeting aids and ... oh... Crippled _Guristas_ cruiser, just roughly 700 meters away.  
In that case - I would actually manage to hit it from that distance after all, heh. How about that... I guess we don't have to worry about shooting now. Looks like my _blind fire_ in our last assault had some merit after all, too. "  
"Gratitude to the _sebiestors_ back there. They know how to patch things up", the Ojur, the other pilot, added, "At least this is over... I thought we were a goner. A minmatar cruiser without any speed or maneuverability is practically dead - even with all this extreme loads of armor we have."

"Good gracious, ... _armored-tanking_ on a ship that is meant to survive by speed and maneuverability... You minnies sure got some unorthodox warfare there", another gallente noted.  
Ojur chuckled... then sighed, thankful of surviving another day - actually the last day - on this dreaded vessel.

"Whatever missiles they fielded, it must have been something new. EM-weaponry had always been known as a potent weapon but never found any real uses in other fields of weaponry. I guess these pirates went back to the roots using missile tech for _sending the package_ - and it looks like they had a few overpowered prototypes that were meant to stall any intercepting ships such as ours. I must say though, that the activation must have also stressed their power grid so intensively that it was at the verge of exploding the core. I suppose too that that was the reason why they could not simply jump or warp away. Heh, they were pretty much _tackled_ by their own tech.

But in the end, I guess our assault really did cause their systems to malfunction and detonate within their bays - and the power grid just blew... Poor dogs..."

As several comments and reports were announced, the gallente first officer and right hand of the spike lieutenant quietly turned around, gazing upon the woman who sat only few steps away. Due to his position, he could only partially see her face as arcing rudimentary screens and their components blocked most of the view. While others continued to chatter for this brief moment of _victory_, the gallente simply felt concerned as he stared upon the woman who simply remained silent.

This fervant woman went by the name of _Eydisjhor Brandiss Asmunrsdottir_, in short _Eydis_, or by _Spike_; being one of many young, proud and spirited souls serving in the new detachments of the _Republic Fleet_. She was known to be aBrutor fullblood - formerly an orphaned slave child, now one of many whose blood boiled for revenge on those who tormented her people. It happened to be unfortunate that this young warrior was forced to redirect her fury upon the uprising of organized pirate factions threatening not only the _Republic_ but all other nations as well. As of now, the judgment upon Amarr and its hideous ages of slaving the minmatar had to wait. It was obvious and not uncommon to see millions of young warriors as she was commanding light vessels like these.

_Spike_'s appearance was not as tough as her reputation and bloodline normally revealed. Standing at an exact height of 1.56 meters, one could almost say that she was a head smaller than the average Brutor woman. Such women were clearly the ones of funneling focused fury. Spike was quite puny compared to Arison, the halfblooded female marine who was at far beyond her.

Unfortunately, Eydis' stature was not as intimidating and physical traits were rather lacking. She was neither muscular nor was blessed with _well endowed features_. Even for being quite mouthy, one could easily ignore most of it.

_Cute_ would be one's impression at first sight. Eydis was of a chocolate-brown complexion. Light would gently kiss the smoothness of her skin despite the years being a slave child and a notable age of famine. To a point, the age of famine may have been the result of this, but many doubted that. The most unusual feature was her slightly wavy hair compared to the extremely curly aspects of her bloodline. Most of the time, she wore her hair by a single ponytail and a notable fringe covering most of her forehead.

Eydis wore a _uniform_ that was typical for her type. The schemes consisted mostly of crimson red and brown camouflage patterns. Her hands were covered by detachable dark leather, as the rest of her body. The vest was somewhat a light flak jacket with a few symbolical pins attached to the shoulder region, as well as the iconic _Spike Lieutenant of Mimmatar_ dog-tag insignia dangling just over her heart. Ironically, she wore her vest openly, revealing only what one could consider as a joke of a cleavage.

He was certain that she also carried a light pistol somewhere.

Despite her appearance, the spike lieutenant was well known throughout the ranks of junior officers - but mostly for very limited successes and awkward outcomes of situations. Eydis' career before and even since he joined her had a series of bad luck... and she herself was still recovering from it. Her service record was rather mind-bogging, but in terms of reality, neither the _Republic_ nor its troubled navy could be selective with vessel commanders.

The newly established _Republic_ and the joint venture with the nations of the Gallente, the Amarr and the Caldari against the new terrors of NEW EDEN had to man their vessels appropriately. Every nation had their respective problems of mobilizing their navies; Many of these problems are considered unknown to each nation...  
But one was obvious for the _Minmatar Republic_: The lack of experienced blood. The last wars had demanded an uncountable mass of honorable men and women on any side, forcing the _Republic_ specifically in fielding young bloods from various castes as well as modernizing the cultural status quo.  
The _Gallente Federation_ had other issues especially with their younger generations, but that was a story to be told another time -as for the Caldari, and the Amarr.

The gallente first officer did not know much about where Eydis originally came from or to which caste or clan she truly was born into - After all, slave children were just a commodity for which the true Amarrian sadist did not care about other than their servitude.

The nickname _Spike_ had more of a meaning than just a mere deviant of the rank Spike Lieutenant. There were key differences between the respective historical and cultural ranks attached to the prefix of _Spike, Spear, Lance, Blade and Talon_. This combined with heritage, caste and bloodline revealed series of a thriving army consisting of many talents.

The young gallente however had yet to find all the definitions for these specific tribal terms. The minmatari ways eluded it many times.

This confrontation though had a severe meaning. It was a head on battle between two formidable vessels.

Previously, all had begun with a series of assaults upon civilian trade routes and exposed stations with corporations that were too arrogant to invest resources in viable defenses many years ago, which had forced all the nations of NEW EDEN to pledge blood truce with one another.  
However, only recently, one of the many raids proved to be a direct and intentional atrocious act resulting in the deaths of thousands. Something has changed in the psyches of the pirate masterminds. Motives were yet to be discovered but so far, all details led to the various pirate cartels that now were the prime targets of the nations.

The _Asjhondr_ continued a steady drift not far from the shattered pirate cruiser _Third-Otan_.

The fielded vessel of the Minmatar Republic was an outdated variant of the ongoing _Stabber_-class. Unlike the modern variants of the Stabber, this obsolete variant known as the _Backstabber_-Class was still applied to naval services, mostly for training procedures and the handling of the complicated helms of minmatari ships. Compared to the modern variants, the Backstabber-class was a lot more resilient, fielded heavy armaments and relied on its high-powered afterburner thrusters. Its armaments were truly of a much heavier caliber compared to its later variant. But ever since the desperate needs for standing navy, the very obsolete _Backstabber_-class had its retirement cancelled...

Although part of the matari naval forces organization, the _Asjhondr_ was one of many vessels dispatched to the fringes of its nation's respective territory to support and be supported specific corporations. As of the truce and the _Les Coriones Act_, the major nations agreed to lay down their hostilities to combine their forces against the pirates. The act also called for private corporations to support the greater good.  
Unfortunately, neither all serving forces entirely or truly agreed to this partnership of convenience - nor did this matari cruiser actually receive any sort of reinforcements today - but this was predictable as neither really trusted any side. While the Minmatar of course possessed a formidable relationship with the Gallente Federation, the Gallente forces were simply too widespread and out of reach to arrive on time.

It happened to be so that single Amarrian and Caldari military warships were operating at nearby star systems but were _compromised_ by whatever reasons. The crew believed the Caldari, as they were a truthful people, but the crew was certain that the Amarrian forces simply _sat back_...

Nevertheless... As of now, the _Asjhondr_ was battered but certainly in a much better shape than its defeated enemy. _The old lady_ had taken quite a beating. The new missile weaponry had bruised the minmatari vessel quite aggressively. Unlike true vessels of the _Republic Fleet_, the minmatar vessel operated under the privateer code combined to its respective corporation; being considerably independent and partially such of a mercenary entity.

Single emergency pods and crafts had been deployed and began a short venture away from the wrecked vessel and its victor as a safety procedure for none were certain if the _Third-Otan_ would remain stable.

_And there she sat..._

The others continued their conversations about the general geopolitical tensions and the recent severe acts of terrorism that had swept across all nations of empire space. The matari spike lieutenant did nothing but silently sat upon her seat, circled by several arcing monitors that had returned to life ever since power was restored. The gallente officer continuously stared upon her.

_Eydis_' dispatched orders and mission were simple: Intercept any of the fleeing foes as her vessel was the only one capable of taking on them in this sector of space and if possible, to incapacitate their vessels and arrest the criminals. Although the belief in such an outdated vessel was extremely high and certainly **optimistic**, the old vessel was still a resilient entity.

These _criminals_ however were certainly not small fish as their vessel fielded quite a number of electronic warfare and weaponry. It was simply unfortunate that the resilient minmatar vessel had caused so much damage that its missiles detonated internally due to their _previously deceased_ leader.

_But the battle was over... that was all that counted..._

Just as the gallente officer turned around, he suddenly heard the spike lieutenant call his name with a firm voice, "Sentinel Lieutenant Drayson Chelraux ... Hail 'em."

The cockpit bridge went silent as calmness filled it.  
"Right away, ma'am",  
Drayson, her designated first officer, replied with confidence, though at first confused why she did not dispatch the order directly to the communication officer,  
"Comms, signal the _Third-Otan_ the confirmation code that we accept their official surrender. Gallente officers onboard will record their arrest and assure their safety to _court_, where they are to be trialed. Also dispatch that we do reveal our sympathy for those who had lost their lives this day - and that they're decision was to be **honored and respected**.  
Sensory, have ship scanners ping their internals every five seconds just in case. Marines on standby but keep things calm - If they're up to something we'll -"

Eydis suddenly interrupted him with harsher tone, almost barking like a rabid dog, "**NO...**! Hail them...!"  
"Th-That was my order, ma'am..."  
Others were confused as well.

"Hail them...", she furiously growled, "**Hail 'em... With HAIL M**..."

The coldest shiver went down his spine. This was not a joke.  
"But, all due respect, Spike Lieutenant - I won't fire on a surrendering ship! We're acting police serving the _Act_ of our combined nations! They're crippled, they surrendered! All we have to do is -", but he froze, gazing into the black and red silhouette of a young woman who sat upon her throne.

Eydis shortly looked over towards the officer of the tactical station, who unfortunately happened to be matari. He was hesitant, but turned around towards his specific station - when he then heard the sound of a charged needle pistol.

Drayson was aiming at him, "No - no! Rojan, don't! You do not need to perform that order! The _Act_ states me as the first officer and _Gallente of The Watch_ - Chain of command! This is not a mutiny - not even if you deny that order, Rojan!"  
"W-Would you please put that gun away from me, at least?", the matari tactical officer asked.

A few seconds went by until the nervous Gallente lowered the pistol whilst activating the safety, "Sorry... but the Spike Lieutenant is out of her mind! They are PEOPLE. We can't just kill them, we are not the ones to judge them. They are to be trialed as the _Federation_ and the _Act_ demands it! We are within the territory that demands the best of our humanity to be presented-"  
"D-Drayson...", a different officer noted, "We're not within _territorial space of the act_ - We've officially crossed the borderline and entered deadspace where the _protocol_ ends...", he explained.

This was a fact that did not support Drayson's standpoint at all... but he knew facts were the point of all this.

The matari lieutenant did not say a word, but her silence spoke. The protocols, the _Act_, everything did not matter at this moment to her - even if they were still within its _reach_. Even if he was the Gallente officer to assure that all was going by the rules... There were simply things that even he could not counter.

He dropped his arms and straightened his stance. His face had formed that of an angry young Gallente who was about to be forced into committing a hideous act, even if these pirates had conducted such much earlier. His hands trembled.

"Dr-Drayson", the young female gallente helmswoman stammered, "We-We can't... They're living people! _Acts, rules, hatred_ - We can't be guided by all these rules out here in space! We are people, living people, just as they are!"

"*Exhales* We are in deadspace... That is all, Kelsea... We are not guided by _rules_ out here... _and I know why we've come this far out_", having no choice, the gallente shook his head, lowered it and spoke at first with a low voice, "I... I hope your consciousness will suffer at least the slightest sorrow for _this_... Spike. Kelsea... We have no choice... even if we are Gallente - _This is not our ship_... This... is insanity...",  
he raised his head and took a deep breath before continuing slowly,  
"Note that I protest against this with every nerve strain in my body - but I am a Gallente officer willing to maintain the chain of command as I believe in the _Act_, even if its reach ended almost five AUs away - but this event will not go away unnoticed... I assure you this, Spike. We will be brand-marked...**scarred**... by this."

The _queen_ remained silent upon her throne.

_Jeris was right about his words long before - and had all right to be concerned... Warrior bloods were to be feared..._

"Damn you... Spike... *Sigh* T-Tactical... Gunner, Four-forty-two millimeter turrets - Target: _Third-Otan_!"

The orders were hesitantly followed. The spike lieutenant's eyes wandered to the upper left corner, observing how all targeting reticles encroached upon the desired target...

"Spike... Eydis... You cannot be serious about this...", Ojur the male matari pilot said from behind.

Just before her final order was given, the voice of the _Third-Otan_ commander sounded across the cockpit bridge, ""_A-Asyondiir_ - What are you doing?! We surrender! We surrender!""

Eydis did not respond to his words other than the ultimate order in the matari dialect, "_Valhall'...Eldur'ch_..."

Drayson had no choice but to fulfill her demand, his final order was hesitant, yet the significant words left his lips in the manner it was to be ordered, "All turrets: F-Fire... **Fire! Fire!**..."

Even the vacuum of space could not suffocate the flames of the heavy turrets spewing across the sides of the cruiser. The blazes were so intense that one could recognize the texture of the minmatar cruiser with ease.

The heavy autocannons kept firing, pummeling rounds into the open wounds of the vessel that cried for mercy. Each striking round of Sabot tore through decks, spraying their clouds of death into the interior world.

Little could one imagine what devastation the remaining souls were witnessing within the dying vessel... until one could begin to heed the desperate howls and woes of people sounding through the open radio frequencies - to be ignored and soon to be forgotten...  
Layers of hull plating were blown away when secondary explosions occurred over and over again. Fire twisted and twirled to the symphony of death and decay. The phoenixes danced many times until the void embraced them...

As the barrage seized, the minmatar cruiser engaged its powerful thrusters, accelerated whilst altering its course away from the dying vessel. The thrusters' bursts were so immense that one questioned if the hull itself could handle its shear potentials. Once the designated velocity was achieved, the cruiser immediately disengaged them, hunkering them down into their protective shells as a safety measure...

Within the next moment, a series of explosions occurred followed by core meltdown. The bubble of pure energy twisted as the void of space slowly suffocated its existence...

The crew of the cruiser soon began to hear the faint clatter of particles and debris raining upon the hull like sand. Nobody throughout the bridge said a word, not even a single prayer. The silence remained until the minmatar woman finally decided break this as well.

"*Sigh* We're done here... So much for _reinforcements_. I don't care about wreckage. Leave it for the exploration vultures to harvest...

Astrogation: Have engineering prep the constellation drive and set a damn course to our designated station HQ... _Toriabi Spire_ in the Angils Consellation - System Klogori - Planet V, moon VII. Engage the drives as soon as possible", the spike lieutenant ordered, "I will be in my _den_ - ... and I wish not to be disturbed until we've docked at that damn station."

Eydis ultimately unbuckled herself, wiped some of the dirty sweat off her forehead and lifted herself from the command seat. Just as the Ojur was about say a word, she instantly shot,  
"I don't want to hear it",  
and left the cockpit bridge with all of its concerns and woes behind...

**To be continued...**


End file.
